"[On the relationship between Jamie Farr & Alan Alda:] Alan was always riding Jamie, making jokes about the dresses. Alan felt cheapened having to be in scenes with Jamie. He would go after him the minute he left the room. Alan never even wanted to be in the same scenes with Jamie. One day, Alan being Alan, got Jamie cut from a scene when Jamie was in wardrobe. Then, trying to be the big man, he rode Jamie about it in front of everyone. Jamie knocked his ass out. He deserved it. Long time coming, let me tell you."

I have always liked M*A*S*H and I guess I assumed that the cast all got along, but reading this makes me wonder. I thought that the "Hawkeye" and "Klinger" characters worked well against each other. Interesting I thought.

David

Flying is the second greatest thrill known to mankind, landing is the first!

I watched the Simpsons for years until the local Detroit station started showing on the episode from the last four years. I find those are the worst shows. I am not much of a fan of the post 2000 episodes.

I watched MASH a lot when I still had cable. Now I am just an free over the air TV guy so I like to watch the Retro TV network. Now I watch Adam 12 and Dragnet. I have not tuned in to the Simpsons in several months.

I don't know maybe it was how he was portrayed in the show. But Alan Alda always struck me as stuck up..I wonder if he was living out his MASH charactor in real life. Loved the show though. Except the non-comedy serious episodes.

"Swit became the first cast member of M*A*S*H to actually visit Korea" - If you go to the sixth or seventh paragraph on the link says that Swit was the first cast member to go to Korea. I thought I read somewhere that Farr actually served in the U.S. military in Korea?

David

Flying is the second greatest thrill known to mankind, landing is the first!

Quoting Tiger119 (Reply 6):I thought I read somewhere that Farr actually served in the U.S. military in Korea?

Both of you are apparently right - provided IMDB can be trusted. It's information is a little more reliable than Wikipedia. Remember they were young during the 50s - a time when a large number of young men served in the military due to the draft.

Farr was born 1 July 1934. At age 21 his movie career was beginning to take off and he was drafted. Which was quite common for men in their early 20's to be sent a notice and to serve in the military. His two years included duty in Japan and in Korea. This was 1955-57 - after the war. Farr is reported to have worn his real US Army dog tags during the filming of the TV show.

Alda was born 28 Jan 1936. After high school, Alda went to college - graduating in 1956. His joining the reserve was a way to avoid the draft, and obtain a commission. He would have served in Korea in 1957 or 58. Alda has often spoken of his time on active duty as not a very serious commitment - "I was awol ever weekend dating Arlene." Though they married in 1957, so he must have done some service while married.

Wayne Rogers was born April 7, 1933 - and went to college - graduating in 1954. He served in the Navy - almost certainly drafted. Alda and Farr had the acting bug before they went into the military. Rogers caught it in the Navy.

McLean Stevenson was born Nov 14 1927. His second cousin was Adlai Stevenson II. His service in the Navy would have been in the late 40s. He went to college after completing his term in the Navy. At one time in the 50s he was a clown on a children's TV show in Dallas.

Mike Farrell was born Feb 7, 1939 and served in the US Marine Corps for two years as a draftee in the late 50s, early 60s.

Harry Morgan was born April 10, 1915. He was 26 years old when World War II broke out. His first movie role was as a young private in "To the Shores of Tripoli". He made several movies during the war and apparently never served in uniform.

Most of the other cast members were too old to have been draft age eligible until the early 60s. At which point deferrments were readily available for anyone with a little luck, money or pull to get out of serving.

There was a low point in the draft in the early 60s, and those people would have been too old by the time the draft started ramping up to provide troops for Vietnam.

Quoting RFields5421 (Reply 9):Harry Morgan was born April 10, 1915. He was 26 years old when World War II broke out. His first movie role was as a young private in "To the Shores of Tripoli". He made several movies during the war and apparently never served in uniform.

Since this is an aviation website, I must mention that (I think) he was in Strategic Air Command, with Jimmy Stewart, which is notable for some stunning in flight footage of USAF B-36 Peacemakers.
To the thread topic, I can only say that it is surprising that more people did not take a shot at Alan Alda.
"Dear Dad: They hate me here. Got a black eye from that Radar actor and none of the nurse actresses will talk to me off camera. I think if I come up with a great script about war being bad they might come around... P.S. Jamie Farr... There's just something about him in a dress, not sure what it is.
Love, Alan"

I was wondering why Wayne Rogers left the show? Both he and Stevenson did the first three years but Stevenson's exit was planned (hence the two episode ending to year three) but Rogers' was not planned (hence no saying "goodbye" to his character until the beginning of year four). Rogers stayed active in acting for a while but now is doing pretty well in the business world.

David

Flying is the second greatest thrill known to mankind, landing is the first!

Quoting Cpd (Reply 7):Wasn't it the guy who played Charles Winchester the one who served in Korea?

David Odgen Stiers was born in 1942; surprisingly, he was younger than most of the regular cast members; Gary Burghoff/Radar was the youngest. He (Stiers) was in Korea (on tour with the USO) during the 90s.

Quoting RFields5421 (Reply 9):Most of the other cast members were too old to have been draft age eligible until the early 60s.

Don't you mean, "too young to have been draft age eligible until the early 60s"?

Quoting Tiger119 (Reply 12):I was wondering why Wayne Rogers left the show? Both he and Stevenson did the first three years but Stevenson's exit was planned (hence the two episode ending to year three) but Rogers' was not planned (hence no saying "goodbye" to his character until the beginning of year four).

From what I've read, Wayne was having similar problems and issues as McLean did (involving contract terms, conditions and so forth - behind the scenes stuff); his decision to finally leave was made several weeks before the 4th season episodes were scheduled to be filmed/shot. That's why he never appeared in the 1st epsidode of the 4th Season (Welcome to Korea) which explained Trapper's departure and brought in B.J.

Quoting Tiger119 (Reply 12):Rogers stayed active in acting for a while but now is doing pretty well in the business world.

While recently working out the local Y last Saturday morning, one of the mounted T.V.s was showing a FOX business show (forget the title) where Wayne appeared as one of the interviewees/commentators. I didn't bring my headsets, so I couldn't follow what he was talking about.

Quoting Cpd (Reply 7):The bus scene with Alan Alda is still one of the more powerful ones, especially when they reveal what actually happened later on in the show.

One 30 Rock episode, last season, that Alan guest-starred in had a little inside joke on that event.

"TransEastern! You'll feel like you've never left the ground because we treat you like dirt!" SNL Parady ad circa 1981

Quoting HT (Reply 5): think, the more political episodes from the later seasons were what really made M*A*S*H great ...

I dont especially since i disagreed with their politics, ant anti-war defeatism. I really liked the show yet when theyed start preaching id have to change the chanel. Really anoying let me tell you. You scare alot of viewers away when you insert one sided politics in a show.

I remember my parents making it a point to stay home on whatever night M*A*S*H was shown. At the time I couldn't relate to it; however, I enjoyed the re-runs while in college. The show lost its edge when Klinger stopped wearing dresses. Some of his outfits were simply to DIE for... Besides Klinger my other favorite characters were Colonel Potter and Hotlips.

Quoting Tiger119 (Thread starter):I have always liked M*A*S*H and I guess I assumed that the cast all got along

I seem to rcall reading that Gary Berghoff and Harry Morgan didn't get along too well. There was one report about Gary making a rude remark about Morgan's wife that he overheard or something like that. It was a long time ago, don't remember the details.

I was much more a fan of the early years with the original cast. As they started to leave and others came on board I enjoyed it less. I felt it started to become "The Hawkeye Show" in later years - much the same way Happy Days started to revolve too much around Fonzie as his character got more popular.

In the movie M*A*S*H, Trapper John, played by Elliott Gould was the major character with Hawkeye, played by Donald Sutherland was more or less secondary behind Trapper. In the TV show Rogers was cast first in the Trapper John role and was to be the main character like in the movie, but they later cast Alan Alda as Hawkeye and made him the main character and Trapper secondary.

A little bit of trivia, Gary Burghoff (Radar in both the movie and TV series) was one of 4 actors who was in both, the others had minor roles.

- Someone told me that Gary Burghoff was born missing three fingers on one of his hands and I always catch myself while watching reruns trying to figure out which hand? I also heard that he was a professional musician.

- One of my favorite "Radar" scenes was when he was taking his "Final Exam" from his high school correspondence class from "Devellin, IN." I have lived in Indiana most of my life and have yet to find a town by that name by any spelling in this state (just for fun).
David

Flying is the second greatest thrill known to mankind, landing is the first!

Quoting Tiger119 (Reply 20): Someone told me that Gary Burghoff was born missing three fingers on one of his hands and I always catch myself while watching reruns trying to figure out which hand? I also heard that he was a professional musician.

From what I have read, he has a deformed left hand that he usually hides behind a clipboard or tries to keep it out of view while on camera, I have looked for it in the past and he has been very successful in hiding his left hand. He was also a drummer in a jazz trio so I guess his deformity is not that bad.

Quoting Tiger119 (Reply 20):One of my favorite "Radar" scenes was when he was taking his "Final Exam" from his high school correspondence class from "Devellin, IN." I have lived in Indiana most of my life and have yet to find a town by that name by any spelling in this state (just for fun).
David

If I remember correctly I think he was from Ottumwa, Iowa in the series.

Another bit of M*A*S*H trivia, Jamie Farr was a young protégé of the comedian Red Skelton and he appeared on one of his shows in a comedy skit dressed up in drag. One of the writers on M*A*S*H remembered this skit and cast him in the role of Max Klinger who dressed up in drag to try to get out of the army by being classified as a psycho. Jamie Farr was hosting a Red Skelton informational on TV selling Red Skelton CD’s and he showed this skit and told how it lead to his role on M*A*S*H.

Farr played the Apostle Thaddaeus (Jude) in the 1965 movie - "The Greatest Story Every Told"

With Max von Sydow as Jesus, David McCallum as Judas Iscariot, Roddy McDowall as Matthew, Gary Raymond as Peter, Burt Brinckerhoff as Andrew, Robert Blake as Simon, John Considine as John, David Hedison as Philip, Tom Reese as Thomas, David Sheiner as James the Elder, Michael Anderson Jr as James the Younger and Peter Mann as Nathanael (Bartholomew) --

-- the story goes that Jamie Farr was the only one at the Last Supper scene who looked like he had ever been to the Promised Land - much less grew up there.

Farr said in an interview on The Mike Douglas Show that he was so despirate for work that he prayed to Saint Jude - the patron saint of hopeless causes - that he would get the job in this movie. He did get the part - as Thaddeus who is St Jude. Often Jude is listed by what was apparently his family name Thaddeus to avoid confusion with Judas.

Quoting Jetstar (Reply 18):In the movie M*A*S*H, Trapper John, played by Elliott Gould was the major character with Hawkeye, played by Donald Sutherland was more or less secondary behind Trapper.

Actually, in the movie version (which I've seen several times), I thought Hawkeye & Trapper were essentially on equal footing. Similar held true for the original novel, which I also read.

However, make no mistake: Hawkeye was always the primary character. The author of the original novel (Richard Hornberger/Hooker) esentially modeled the Hawkeye character after himself; although he was not too fond of the way the Hawkeye character was portrayed in the series (Alda).

In the opening credits of the movie, Donald Sutherland's name appears above Elliot Gould's.

The Duke Forrest character (which never made it into the T.V. series and was played by Tom Skerritt) was more of a secondary character among the doctors.

To be fair, the series did strip some of Trapper's identity (chest cutter, selected as Chief Surgeon) and gave it to Hawkeye.

Quoting Jetstar (Reply 18):In the TV show Rogers was cast first in the Trapper John role

From what I've read (from actual M*A*S*H publications) the Trapper role was casted LAST.

Alda was already casted for Hawkeye at the time but was still filming for a T.V. made movie The Glass House; which explains his late arrival to the M*A*S*H when the 1972 pilot episode was filmed.

Quoting Jetstar (Reply 21):If I remember correctly I think he was from Ottumwa, Iowa in the series.

It was also listed in the opening chapter of the original novel.

Quoting Jetstar (Reply 21):Quoting Tiger119 (Reply 20):
Someone told me that Gary Burghoff was born missing three fingers on one of his hands and I always catch myself while watching reruns trying to figure out which hand? I also heard that he was a professional musician.

From what I have read, he has a deformed left hand that he usually hides behind a clipboard or tries to keep it out of view while on camera, I have looked for it in the past and he has been very successful in hiding his left hand. He was also a drummer in a jazz trio so I guess his deformity is not that bad.

In the opening scene of the pilot episode (not usually shown in the syndicated reruns on T.V.) just prior to the opening credits & the choppers coming in; one can easily see the deformed fingers as he's clutching a football. Somebody posted this on YouTube sometime back; I'm not sure if it's still there.

Quoting Jetstar (Reply 18):A little bit of trivia, Gary Burghoff (Radar in both the movie and TV series) was one of 4 actors who was in both, the others had minor roles.

From what I rmember, the other 3 were:

1. G. Wood - who played General Hammond in both.

2. Tim (or Timothy) Brown - who played an enlisted man in the movie and played the short-lived Spearchucker Jones in the 1st season.

3. Linda Kelsey (who would later be known for playing reporter Billie Newman in the Lou Grant series) - played the nurse shown in bed w/Henry (Roger Bowen) in the film just after the imfamous shower scene where Hot Lips (Sally Kellerman) is yelling at Henry her infamous, "THIS ISN"T A HOSPITAL! IT'S AN INSANE ASYLUM!" line.

In the series, Kelsey played Nurse Baker in the Season 5 episode The Nurses (an episode that was a turning point for the Hot Lips/Margaret character) who was grounded (by Hot Lips) just when her husband Tony (played by Gregory Harrison - who later would play Gonzo Gates in Trapper John M.D.) visits on a one-day pass.

Quoting Mayor (Reply 23):Also, the episodes after Col. Potter and BJ arrive but before Frank leaves are very good.

Seasons 4 & 5.

[Edited 2009-12-11 09:52:11]

"TransEastern! You'll feel like you've never left the ground because we treat you like dirt!" SNL Parady ad circa 1981

25 Mayor
: There are also 1 or two episodes where Radar is playing the drums where you can see the deformity, but I'll tell you this.....it took me quite awhile

26 PHLBOS
: Those 2 episodes that you speak of were from the 1st Season, one of them being the second of the Dear Dad episodes where Hawkeye and Hot Lips are sin

27 N1120A
: Morgan had a hell of a career, and it is nice to see he is still around. I always think of him as Bill Gannon from "Dragnet" re-runs on Nick at Nite.

28 4holer
: During the show or war? If you mean show, I was so can I judge? The kid is right. Think, the North Korean soldiers were portrayed as sympathetic poor

29 KINDFlyer
: I vividly recall that episode and that scene in particular. The scene where Henry bids farewell to the troops while wearing a pin striped zoot suit i

30 Igneousrocks
: Here's a bit of post M*A*S*H trivia: The actors that portrayed Col. Blake - McLean Stevenson (TV) and Roger Bowen (Movie) died within one day of each

31 PHLBOS
: Same here, except I saw the Dragnet reruns (minus the 1967 suffix) when they aired aired on UHF stations. Yeah, I'm that I saw an occasional M*A*S*H

32 Nkops
: Isn't that when Alda took over as producer or director?? I believe the final episode of MASH was the most watched episode in TV history.. was probabl

33 PHLBOS
: It was even more watched than past Super Bowls (not sure about later ones). I'm not sure whether the final episode of Cheers, whose series timeline a